Weekend Economists: What Goes Up....June 1-3, 2012

[Demeter]

43. Euro Shorts Reach Record as Spain, Greece Concern Damp Demand

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-01/euro-shorts-reach-record-as-spain-greece-concern-damp-demand.html

Futures traders boosted bets that the euro will depreciate against the dollar to a record high as concern increased that Spain’s banking crisis will worsen and Greece may exit the 17-nation currency union.

Hedge funds and other large speculators increased wagers on a euro drop for a fourth straight week in the five days ended May 29, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed today. The surge came during a week in which Greece’s anti-bailout political party gained in the polls and as Spanish leaders debated how to recapitalize Bankia group.

“Positions are getting more extended,” said Brian Kim, a currency strategist in Stamford, Connecticut, at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. “It’s not just because of the crisis, but also data getting weak and expectations that the ECB could ease in the second half of the year.”

The difference in the number of wagers on a decline in the shared currency compared with those on a gain, known as net shorts, was 203,415, the most since the euro’s inception in 1999. It was the third consecutive weekly record...